Heroes
You Know All The Scary Talk About Sea Levels Rising That Seems Like A Bunch Of B.S.? Well...
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet some of the facts about global warming. What they have to say is pretty darn eye-opening.
05.14.14
Van Gogh's Starry Night, 1889.
Vincent van Gogh never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). Van Gogh died in 1890 at the age of 37 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France after shooting himself in the chest with a revolver. It was a tragic end to a turbulent life marked by mental instability and severe self-doubt.
According to the Van Gogh Museum, in a letter to his brother Theo in 1890, just a couple of weeks before his death, Van Gogh wrote, "...my life, is attacked at the very root, my step also is faltering." The man was struggling and exhausted. The high standards he had set for himself and his art were taking a toll. He was unsure about his future and, up to this point, had not received much recognition for his work and thought himself a failure "as a man and as an artist."
His most well-known work, Starry Night, was famously painted while Van Gogh was staying in an asylum in France 1889 after he mutilated his ear during a psychotic episode. According to the Van Gogh Museum, though, this may not be the full story. While it is widely agreed that Van Gogh did in fact cut off his own ear, the museum notes that it was because of a fight between Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin, the artist he had been working for in Aries, that led to the violent explosion that highlighted his deteriorating mental state.
Vincent Van Gogh's Self-Portrait, 1889Image via Canva.
As one of the best known and most studied artists of the 19th century, Van Gogh's madness and how it influenced his work is not new information. But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years—revealed in the 2010s thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope.
A video at the bottom of the page will explain everything, but before we get there, let's do some backstory:
We known Van Gogh was an artist—and a genius artist at that—but, it turns out, he was also scientist. Kind of.
Whether intentionally or not, fresh eyes have found that Van Gogh's art—aside from being breathtaking—also captures one of science and nature's most elusive concepts: Turbulence.
The concept of turbulence is hard to understand with math, but it turns out art makes it fairly easy to comprehend through depiction. So, what is turbulence?
According to Britannica, turbulence, or turbulent flow, is a concept of fluid dynamics in which a type of fluid flow (liquid or gas like air or water or air) undergoes an irregular fluctuation or energy cascade. In other words, the air or water swirls and eddies as it moves: big eddies make smaller eddies, and those make even smaller ones, and so on. Common examples of turbulent flow include blood flow in arteries, lava flow, atmosphere and ocean currents, and the flow in boat wakes or surrounding the tips of aircraft wings.
It looks like this:
Turbulent flow illustrated and animated.All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.
The thing is, scientists only started figuring this out pretty recently.
Animation of art referencing science.All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.
And yet, there was Mr. Vincent van Gogh, 100 years earlier in his asylum with a mutilated ear and able to accurately capture this turbulent flow in what would become his most famous work, Starry Night.
Animated Starry NightAll Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.
The folks who noticed Van Gogh's ability to capture turbulence checked to see whether other artists did the same. Most of the Impressionists achieved "luminance" with their art—a striking and lifelike depiction of light's effect on color. While impressive, they did not capture or depict turbulence the way Van Gogh did.
An animated depiction of The Scream.All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.
Not even Edvard Munch's The Scream, with it's swirling color and movement, could recreate what Van Gogh had accomplished.
Even in his darkest time, Van Gogh was able to capture—with eerie accuracy—one of nature's most complex and confusing concepts 100 years before scientists had the technology to do so.
Who would have thought that the beauty Van Gogh captured was foreshadowing what scientists would observe in the real, natural world in a century's time? To learn even more, watch the TED-Ed video below:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
This article originally appeared twelve years ago. It has been updated.
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How can anyone get by on this?
I've written extensively about minimum wage, supported by fact-checkers, economists, and scholarly studies. All of them support raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting them off public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.
But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it. Ask yourself: Could I live on this small of an hourly wage? I know what my answer is.
(And note that the minimum wage in many parts of the county is STILL $7.25, so it could be even less than this).
One year of work at McDonalds grossed this worker $13,811.18.via JustFrugalMe/YouTube
The YouTube channel Just Frugal Me discussed the viral paycheck and noted there's absolutely nothing wrong with working at McDonald's. More than 2 million people in the U.S. alone work for the fast food giant. The worker's paycheck shows they put in 72 hours over the pay period, making $8.75 per hour. Before taxes, that's $631 for the week. Just Frugal Me's breakdown is even more eye-opening, breaking down this person's pay after taxes and weighing across average rent and utility costs. Spoiler Alert: the total costs for basic necessities far outweigh what this person is making even while working 12 hours per day. But they do make too much to qualify for Medicaid, meaning they will have to go out and buy their own health insurance.
A photo of a McDonald's in Hartford, CT. via Mike Mozart/Flickr
Even in states like California, where the state's $20 minimum wage ensures that people earn nearly three times as much as the federal minimum wage, which remains as low as when this paycheck first made the rounds nearly 10 years ago.
Still, even for a worker that maxed out at 40 hours per week and took zero vacation or sick time, that's only a little over $41,000 per year. That's barely half the median wage in the state of $78,000 and far below a sustainable living wage in cities like Los Angeles.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The U.S. federal minimum wage is just $7.25 and hasn't been raised since 2009. In April 2025, the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 was introduced in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The bill would increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2030 and eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers and those with disabilities. But supporters should be cautious that it's unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Congress.
If the Wage Act of 2025 were to pass, over $22 million workers would get a raise, which is 15% of the U.S. workforce. It would raise $70 billion for low-wage Americans, an increase of $3,200 per worker.
“No person working full-time in America should be living in poverty," Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott said in a statement. "The Raise the Wage Act will increase the pay and standard of living for nearly 22 million workers across this country. Raising the minimum wage is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers, they will spend that money in their communities,”
This story originally appeared ten years ago. It has been updated to reflect new information.
Do dogs really feel shame and guilt?
Have you ever seen a dog get caught in the act of doing something they know they're not supposed to do? Some pups get the sad eyes with the raised eyebrows. Some dogs refuse to make eye contact altogether. Some put their tail between their legs and hunker down in a submissive stance. Some do their darnedest to appear all cute and innocent as if nothing actually happened, but slowly their guilty tells start creeping in.
One of the biggest differences between cats and dogs is that cats will do whatever they want with zero concern over whether their owners like it or not, while dogs (at least most dogs) can be trained to do or not do things with vocal commands. While cats exhibit no shame or guilt, staring right at you while defying you, dogs are eager to please and can't seem to help telling on themselves when they've done something wrong. Some dogs will even tell on each other.
That is a guilty face right there.Photo credit: Canva
Compilations of dog guilt videos often go viral because they are downright hilarious. Owners don't even have to get mad or yell or anything, and dogs will rat themselves or their friends out every time.
Case in point:
@funnypetsoftiktok59 It wasn’t me. I swear 🐶🦴#dog #funny #foryou #fyp #foryoupage #dogsoftiktok #doglover #funnyvideo #dogs #funnydog #tiktokdogs #pet #puppy #usa🇺🇸 #funnymoments
Sometimes dogs will cower if they've been mistreated or abused, and that's definitely not funny, but none of these owners are even raising their voices much. Just a simple, "Who did this?" question, with some of them even laughing when they ask, and it's enough for the pups to come clean.
Some dogs even exhibit guilty behaviors when they do something they have never been scolded for before, and when they get nothing but encouraging words from their owner, like this pup who puked in his owner's truck for the first time. Listen to how patient and sweet the owner is, and yet how guilty the dog looks:
@southernsam4 oh that guilty fave! poor puppers!#Truckerpuppers #DogsOfTikTok #Keneorthcadburylucas #Labranavigator #zoomiesking #Trucker
Some dogs are just super conscientious, apparently. As one commenter wrote, "I’ve NEVER punished my dog for throwing up. But when he does he acts like he’s been sentenced to death row lol he’s gets extra lovies those days tho."
Some of the funniest ones are the "guilty smile" dogs who exhibit the almost-human trait of nervous smiling when they know they've done something wrong. This dog mama asks in the sweetest voice about the torn up bed, and doggo just guilty grins away.
@emilymacdermottttttt Guiltiest face I’ve ever seen #goldenretriever #dog #naughtydog
Then there are the huskies, who just argue with you louder and louder until you give up any guilt trip you were attempting.
"Who did this?"
"Owrrrowwwrr owrrr."
"Did you…"
"OWRROWRRRR OWWWRR"
"But…"
"OOOOWRRRR!!! OOWWRR!! OOOWWWRRRR!!!!"
@guiltydoghouse Blu didn’t do it. #guiltydog #naughtydog #husky #howlinghusky #fyp
And then there are the "If I don't look at it, it doesn't exist, therefore I didn't do it" doggos. In this video, the owner even sets a positive scene, prepping her dog to go for a walk and getting her excited, then just shows her the thing she chewed up and the guilty reaction is instantaneous.
@urfavchickennuggie The chronicles of Lily 😂 #dog #guilty #guiltydog #guiltydogsoftiktok #shedidthat #shedidit #colgate #funny #funnydog #HPSustainableSounds #PassTheBIC #fyp #foryou #nba #outfitinspo #passover #couplestiktok #gamingskills #perfect #ecofriendly #siblings #petsoftiktok #projectbroadway #familia #PGAtour
Due to evidence like this and people's own experiences with their own dogs, many are convinced that dogs inherently have a sense of shame and guilt when they do something wrong. Is it true?
Do dogs really feel shame and guilt?
While it may seem obvious that the dogs in these videos feel guilty, the research isn't quite so clear. A study of guilty dog looks by dog cognition scientist Dr. Alexandra Horowitz in 2009 found that dogs tend to display "guilty" body language more often when their owners scolded them than if they remained neutral, whether the dog actually did anything wrong or not. “A better description of the so-called guilty look is that it is a response to owner cues, rather than that it shows an appreciation of a misdeed,” Dr. Horowitz concluded.
That would make sense, except for what we see in some of these videos. Clearly, some dogs are not responding to their owners' cues because some owners are simply laughing or even offering words of encouragement.
However, Horowitz clarified that the results of her study do not mean that dog's don't feel guilt.
“My study was decidedly not about whether dogs ‘feel guilt’ or not. I would feel dreadful if people then thought the case was closed on dogs (not) feeling guilt, which is definitely not the case,” she said.
The truth is, we don't know whether dogs feel shame or guilt and we probably never will because we can't get inside their heads. All we can go by is their behavior, which in many case seems to point to at least some sense of understanding they've done something wrong and feel some way about it. Either way, as long as a dog is being well cared for, it's quite entertaining to see.
A woman crosses her arms in gratitude. A person writes a letter.
It's true that "gratitude" has become a buzzword and the very idea of it seems trite and empty to some. For others, the world might feel too chaotic at the moment to focus on the tiny, good things we're told to hang onto. But a professor of psychology at Gonzaga University gave some insight on how to make the concept of gratitude truly enhance our lives.
It's easy to take things for granted sometimes. Keeping a list of stuff we're grateful for, big and small, can certainly help put life into perspective—and not just items at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs (like air and water), but all along the pyramid. It can change daily from "I got good sleep last night" to "I'm glad the TV show I like is back for a new season."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
There's a guy on TikTok called David the Grateful Guy (@today.iam.grateful), and as you might have guessed, he posts clips of different things for which he's grateful. One day, he expressed his appreciation for salt. That’s it. Just salt.
@today.iam.grateful Today I am grateful for salt! Anyone else add salt to almost everything?! #grateful #gratitude #gratitudejournal #todayiamgrateful #thankfulfor #salt #gratitudepractice
What was extra special is this short video garnered nearly 5,000 comments, binding a community together with jokes and "salt-recognition." It was the sharing of his gratitude that spread joy, more than the salt itself. Kind of like a "Oh yeah, salt IS nice." (Note: a cardiologist might not share this sentiment.)
Professor Monica Y. Bartlett, who in her own words teaches "courses on resilience and human flourishing," shares how important it is to do this. She writes in The Conversation that aside from being aware of your gratitude, "a second method for practicing is expressing that gratitude to others. This can look like writing a letter of gratitude and delivering it to someone who has made a positive impact in your life."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
This can even be a letter in retrospect for someone who has passed on. The act of expressing one's appreciation is just as important as the appreciation itself. Now, this can't always be implemented, but when it can, it might be extremely impactful. Bartlett continues, "When my students do this exercise, it often results in touching interactions. For instance, my college students often write to high school mentors, and those adults are regularly moved to tears to learn of the positive impact they had. Expressing gratitude in work settings can boost employees’ sense of social worth."
A thread, "What's something you're most grateful for?" yielded many comments on Reddit. Lots of people answered food, shelter, air, family. But a few got specific. One person vulnerably shared, "Being gay in a country that doesn't illegalize it. It's still hard, but at least I don’t have to fear for my life."
Another person answered, "Coca-Cola. I'm a simple gal," and another got more specific, "Great red wine—spend a little more than £15 a bottle—but no more than £80—and pick good company (this bit is more important than the absolute price of the wine) and you have a fantastic evening."
People clinking their glasses of red wine for a cheers.
Photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash
And one commenter simply wrote, "I'm grateful to see another day." Perhaps implementing the idea of writing gratitude letters to all the people who help make them feel that way would even triple the impact of happiness. To end with Bartlett's insightful words, "In a world that may currently feel bleak, a letter of gratitude may not only help the writer recognize the good of others, but also let others know that they are making a beautiful difference in the world."
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't